posted
So, I meant to continue these weekly, but I got side-tracked with all that 'real life' stuff. Any way, I thought I'd get to one of the more prominent Marvel writers writing comics these days, and we can discuss Mark Millar.
I'll be honest, when I first starting reading Millar's comics and his interviews online, I kind of didn't really like him and found his work to be overrated and 'in my face'. But as a few years as I've gone by, I really think Mark Millar is as talented a writer as people say and think his name alone on a comic would make me check it out. I never read his Wildstorm stuff and couldn't tell you for the life of me what things he wrote pre-Ultimate universe, but some highlights of recent years:
Ultimates - This series is awesome. When it comes down to it, despite an annoying Hank Pym, annoying Cap and lateness of issues, this series is one damn good comic. Kick-ass fights, explosive ideas and just a feeling of pure energy and excitement that was needed in the comic industry when it came out. Given that its an entirely seperate universe, the characters in Ultimates are very interesting (Thor is my fave), and I really like see Millar going nuts. After reading Ultimates Vol. 2 (which I think is even BETTER than the first volume) I want to meet Mark Millar in a Scottish pub and really see if he's as crazy as I suspect.
Wolverine - If ever there was a character in comics pushed in our faces to a degree of uncanny annoyance, its Wolverine. I think 95% of people I speak to online actually dislike the character because of this. I find him a bit annoying myself. But Mark Millar's 'Enemy of the State' story is hands down the best Wolverine story I've ever read and one of Millar's best works. Millar seemed to completely capture what Wolverine is all about in a way that reminded me of when Wolvie first took on the Hellfire Club in the #130's of the original book, or the Brood a few years later. Once again, its the way Millar builds into these vast stories to the point where they encompass such a wild scope of ideas.
Ultimate X-Men - I feel, by and large, that this is the weakest of all the Ultimate titles and pretty much has been since Millar left. However, the first 35 issues or so where kick-ass. Millar's rendition of Colossus pretty much ensured he'd be brought back in MU Proper and his battles with Magneto and Stryker were intense to a point that most stories usually don't reach.
Ultimate Fantastic Four - And this, I feel, is the best work Mark Millar has ever done, and its cool that its happening right now. I honestly do not think anyone has ever really captured the Fantastic Four like Stan & Jack did (and I've read the entire run from #1 to now), but Mark Millar has done so in his twelve issue run in the Ultimate universe. The wacky science-fiction, a thousand ideas coming at you every minute, the non-stop fun interaction b/t the four...its as Silver Age fun a comic book can be these days in a way that almost makes it feel more 'modern' that pretty much anything on the market. This comic is in my top five for 2005. The Greg Land art is pretty nice too
Civil War - And now, Civil War. I trust that this will ultimately be good, because Millar is behind the driver's seat. Where Bendis can't really handle these huge casts and action-oriented stories, Millar excels, and I think that's why this will end up being much better than House of M. I'm looking forward to it.
I also think it should be noted that the artists Millar works with are usually top-notch (Romita, Land, Hitch) and seem to really be in synch with him, which might a further tribute to his talent.
I know he's a very 'controversial' writer these days and some of LW don't like his work, so I'm interested in all your thoughts. Personally, it took me awhile to warm up to him, but I think he's top-notch and I'm looking forward to him writing comics for a long time. (Oh, and I know I left some comics out that he's done, but that's for you guys to bring up )
[ May 14, 2006, 02:32 PM: Message edited by: Cobalt Kid ]
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
Oh yeah, Trouble was fun too! And a romance comic, which basically puts Aunt May (who is sacrosanct to this lifelong Spidey fan) in a bad light, is as tough a sell as ever for this lad!
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
He did a run on Authority with Quitely. His DC work I'm most familiar with is the elseworld's miniseries Superman: Red Son which I really enjoyed.
I think he did a short run on Flash which I didn't read. I know he wrote a year and half of the Johnny DC Superman Adventures animated series comic. These have been reprinted in digest form i think.
From: Canada | Registered: Apr 2005
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What about the amazing and ultra-violent Wanted? Another excellent Millar title. I love his Ultimates with an unholy passion... His Ult FF is awesome, and Ult X-Men is good too.
Red Son was truly a masterpiece. Incredible stuff.
And who could forget Midnighter giving 'Captain America' some tough, jackhammer-assisted love in the pages of Authority?
I understand why people mightn't like him - gratuitous is a word I hear bandied about - but if you can't be gratuitous in a comic book, where can you?
posted
I thought Wanted was crazy awesome in an over the top way. I literally felt guilty at how much I enjoyed it!
From: If you don't want my peaches, honey... | Registered: Sep 2003
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posted
I think Millar's "Swamp Thing" run (which was the first I'd ever heard of Millar) was a really underrated bit of top-notch work. Other than Alan Moore's legendary run, it's the only version of Swampy that I've really enjoyed. His run also featured the first Phil Hester artwork I'd seen. I have no clue as to why DC hasn't marketed the run as TPBs. I think DC's really missing the boat there.
Otherwise, of the Millar work I've read (haven't read Ultimate FF), Ultimates is definitely the ultimate. He and Bryan Hitch are right up there among the best writer-artist duos in recent history!
-------------------- "Suck it, depressos!"--M. Lash
From: The Underbelly of Society | Registered: Jul 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Cobalt Kid: I thought Wanted was crazy awesome in an over the top way. I literally felt guilty at how much I enjoyed it!
Let down by an over-"in yo face" ending, I felt. What a great tale it would have been as a Secret Society of Super-Villains Elseworlds! I think that's how Millar first pitched it. Great to see thinly veiled versions of the Red Skull, Bizarro and the rest too.
posted
I really liked his Superman Adventures. He seemed to have a perfect grasp of Superman in a modern context.
Ultimates is pretty good, but there is something that leaves me cold about the title. Perhaps it will all read better in one large sitting. Its good stuff, but not my favorite.
Red Sun. My second favorite thing Millar has ever written. Best Superman Elseworlds I have read.
The Authority. The only person other than Garth Ennis or Grant Morrison that could have taken over The Authority from Warren Ellis. Mark Millar not only took what Ellis did and ran full bore, he added depth to the concept and really gave the Authority worthy villains. The Title wasnt the same after he left.
The Flash. Good. Real solid run with Grant Morrsion. Again, why hasnt DC traded this? Its Morrison AND Millar. Two built in Audiences.
Wanted. My Favorite Millar piece. If you cut out the rape stuff, it would translate pretty well to film.
JLA fill-ins. My absolutely favorite moment in any DC comic in the last ten years came from one of Millar's fill-ins. Barda is wearing a pretty red dress... a pretty red dress with a yellow and black stripe on it. Oh. Its actually Plastic Man. Hijinx ensue.
-------------------- -Nick-
Is Civil War over with yet?
From: Texas | Registered: Apr 2006
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In the years since this thread went inactive, Millar has had a run on the mainstream Marvel Universe version of Fantastic Four which, for me, confirmed what a fraud he is. When it came time for him to put up or shut up by doing stories that didn't rely on exploitation gimmicks, he failed. Failed MISERABLY! His FF run was timid, self-conscious, bland, and wholly uninspired, the work of a writer with nothing of substance to offer. Tellingly, he hasn't done anything since in the mainstream Marvel Universe, and probably will not, what with his loyal followers buying his "original" creations. Fine. Let him occupy his niche, as much as I despise it. Just keep him away from the icons.
Swamp Thing comes to mind, which wasn't particularly good, except for the "Chester Williams, American Cop" spoof.
From: Vancouver, BC, Canada | Registered: Dec 2003
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I don't think I've ever read anything by Millar either. From what I've seen and heard of his work though I can't say I feel like I'm missing out on much. He seems like the epitome of the modern ultra-violent, shock-tactic, all style and no substance writer. And he comes across as a douche in interviews too. I hope he stays in his own little comics niche so I never need to bother with him.
From: Australia | Registered: Dec 2003
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I really liked his Swamp Thing run, and enjoyed his two collaborations with Morrison that I read (Flash and Aztek). I understood where he was going with Authority, but like a lot of Garth Ennis work, I think he tended to wallow a bit too much in the "Shocking" stuff than was necessary to make his point. I've only skimmed what's come after, but it looks like more of the same in his creator owned stuff. It's like he's become the sensationalist "Shock and Awe" comic creator he was sending up earlier in his career.
From: Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada | Registered: Sep 2004
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Set
There's not a word yet, for old friends who've just met.
posted
quote:Originally posted by Dave Hackett: It's like he's become the sensationalist "Shock and Awe" comic creator he was sending up earlier in his career.
I've noticed that with a few creators. They come in with something that's a tongue-in-cheek poke at certain sensibilities (literally making Ultimate Captain America into a 'jack-booted thug' and stating so textually, in case anyone missed it) and then the fans of that sort of thing *eat it up* and leave them in the awkward position of pandering to the fans they thought they were poking fun at, because now they are associated with the exact sort of writing and characterization and sensationalism that they were unsubtly trying to lampoon.
In attempting to be sarcastic or 'ironic' or whatever, they end up being stuck writing the sort of stuff they were supposedly caricaturizing...
And then they get bitter and grumpy and blame it on the stupid comic fans who didn't 'get' their too-clever-by-half prose, since it didn't necessarily occur to their fans that they were paying the creator money to have the entire genre lampooned, and their tastes mocked.
Registered: Aug 2006
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